The shape of things

Colby Ware/Baltimore Sun

Why do many monuments look so phallic? -- Roswell E., Fells Point This is gonna sound like I'm blowing this question off, but I firmly suggest you take a peek at the Wikipedia page on phallic architecture. The phenomenon has a deep history, penetrating through loads of ancient cultures, and still showing its reach around the entire modern world. But if you came here to get a quick, no-bones-about-it answer, the long and the short of it is this: Egyptians thought they brought fertility, Romans thought they warded off the evil eye, East Asians think they're lucky, and Americans would NEVER intentionally build anything in the likeness of such vulgarity. My word, the very notion! -- Lyndsay Webb

Why do many monuments look so phallic? -- Roswell E., Fells Point This is gonna sound like I'm blowing this question off, but I firmly suggest you take a peek at the Wikipedia page on phallic architecture. The phenomenon has a deep history, penetrating through loads of ancient cultures, and still showing its reach around the entire modern world. But if you came here to get a quick, no-bones-about-it answer, the long and the short of it is this: Egyptians thought they brought fertility, Romans thought they warded off the evil eye, East Asians think they're lucky, and Americans would NEVER intentionally build anything in the likeness of such vulgarity. My word, the very notion! -- Lyndsay Webb (Colby Ware/Baltimore Sun)

Why do many monuments look so phallic? -- Roswell E., Fells Point This is gonna sound like I'm blowing this question off, but I firmly suggest you take a peek at the Wikipedia page on phallic architecture. The phenomenon has a deep history, penetrating through loads of ancient cultures, and still showing its reach around the entire modern world. But if you came here to get a quick, no-bones-about-it answer, the long and the short of it is this: Egyptians thought they brought fertility, Romans thought they warded off the evil eye, East Asians think they're lucky, and Americans would NEVER intentionally build anything in the likeness of such vulgarity. My word, the very notion! -- Lyndsay Webb